US Judge Delays Trial El Chapo for 60 Days

Posted: Monday, July 16, 2018 – 12:11 PM

(AFP) The US judge overseeing the case against Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, accused of running one of the world’s biggest drug empires, ordered Monday that his trial be delayed 60 days until November.

Jury selection will begin on November 5, rather than September 5 as originally scheduled. Judge Brian Cogan ordered the delay following a request for a postponement from the defense.

Guzman’s lawyer Eduardo Balarezo requested a delay earlier this month, arguing that thousands of new documents produced by government lawyers would make it impossible to be ready in time.

Guzman, 61, is accused of running the Sinaloa crime syndicate and has been held in New York since being extradited to the United States on January 19, 2017, after twice escaping from prison in Mexico.

He faces 17 charges. If convicted he is likely to spend the rest of his life in a maximum security US prison.